By Cecile Lefort and Charlotte Greenfield
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - The Australian and New Zealand dollars reached two-month highs against a depressed pound on Monday on fears of a "hard Brexit", and held near recent peaks versus their U.S counterpart.
Sterling skidded 1 percent to A$1.6061, having briefly touched a two-month trough below A$1.6000 GBPAUD=R . It plunged 3.5 percent last week, the biggest fall since June last year.
A break of A$1.5950 could see a retracement all the way to the 2016 trough of A$1.5582.
The pound was hammered on reports U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will use a speech on Tuesday to signal plans for a "hard Brexit", fuelling worries about British exports. also dropped 1 percent against the New Zealand dollar to NZ$1.69277 GBPNZD=R , having gone as far as NZ$1.6796, the Nov. 9 low.
With so much attention on the pound, the Antipodean currencies took a back seat to their U.S. counterpart, following recent hefty gains.
The Australian dollar AUD=D4 edged down to $0.7481, from $$0.7504 late on Friday and away from a one-month peak of $0.7519. It leapt 2.7 percent last week, the strongest performance since March last year, following a shakeout in bullish U.S. dollar positions.
Also helping the Aussie was strength in iron ore prices, with futures DCIOcv1 traded in China jumping 8 percent to their highest in three years. That was the sixth consecutive session of gains.
"The Aussie is the current darling in the G-10 space and attracting much attention," said Stephen Innes, senior currency trader at CFD and FX provider OANDA Australia and Asia Pacific.
"The best way to express a strong Aussie commodity bias is through crosses on the leading currencies such as EUR, GBP, and JPY which will continue to assert itself in early 2017."
Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand dollar NZD=D4 slipped to $0.7110, from $0.7130 late on Friday, away from a one-month peak of $0.7149 touched last week.
Most local data was being put to one side as offshore events decided the kiwi's fate, according to analysts. "We expect a moderately volatile week, though with risks mounting for a move lower," said Zoe Wallis, Kiwi Bank chief economist.
New Zealand government bonds 0#NZTSY= eased, sending yields 1 basis point higher.
Australian government bond futures dipped, with the three-year bond contract YTTc1 off 2 ticks at 97.990. The 10-year contract YTCc1 shed 1.5 ticks to 97.2600, while the 20-year contract YXXc1 lost 1 tick to 96.6350.